Breakdown of Мы пошли в супермаркет за кошачьим кормом.
мы
we
в
in / to (direction)
пойти
to go (perfective, on foot) / to start (of rain, snow)
супермаркет
supermarket
за
for (to fetch, go get)
корм
feed (animal food)
кошачий
cat's
Questions & Answers about Мы пошли в супермаркет за кошачьим кормом.
Why does кошачьим have a soft sign (ь) in it?
Because кошачий is a possessive adjective. Unlike regular adjectives, possessive adjectives ending in -ий, -ья, -ье, -ьи insert a soft sign (ь) before the case endings in almost all forms. Since we need the masculine instrumental case to match кормом, the standard ending -им is added after the soft sign, resulting in кошачьим.
Why use за + instrumental case (за кошачьим кормом) to mean for cat food?
When you go somewhere specifically to get, fetch, or pick up an object or a person, Russian uses the preposition за followed by the instrumental case. If you used для + genitive (для кошачьего корма), it would sound like you went to the supermarket for the benefit of the cat food itself, which does not make sense!
Could I use ходили instead of пошли here?
You could, but the nuance shifts slightly. Мы пошли is a perfective verb of motion that emphasizes the departure, meaning we set off to the supermarket. Мы ходили would focus on the fact that you made a complete round trip, meaning you went to the supermarket and have already returned.
Why use the word кормом instead of едой?
Корм specifically translates to animal feed or pet food. While еда means food in general, native speakers almost exclusively use корм when talking about food manufactured for pets.
Learn Мы пошли в супермаркет за кошачьим кормом and more in Russian
All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods, no signup needed.
- ✓ Practice with interactive exercises
- ✓ Track your progress with spaced repetition
- ✓Learn at your own pace — completely free